Captain Babar Azam told his rejuvenated Pakistani side on Saturday to ride the wave of four consecutive wins and win the T20 World Cup final. The 2009 champions suffered their last loss to India and Zimbabwe to start their tournament, but recovered to reach Sunday’s final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. “We lost the first two games, but the way we came back in the last four games, we performed very well,” Azam said at his pre-match press conference.
“I’m more excited than nervous…there’s no doubt that pressure exists, but it can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves. And for good results, it’s important that we do it.”
Pakistan is a minor underdog against Jos Buttler’s England, but Azam counts on the strength of his fast bowlers to give them an edge, especially in the six-over power play.
“England is a competitive team, their win (10-wicket) to reach the final against India was proof of that,” he said.
“Our strategy is to stick to our plan and use our speed attack as our strength to win the final.
“Using the power play to take as many wickets as possible will be essential to the match.”
Despite any late injuries, Pakistan is set to name the same team with Shaheen Shah Afridi spearheading a dangerous attack and Azam and Mohammad Rizwan headliners.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja met the squad on Friday and gave them a pep talk, reflecting on how the Pakistani team he was a part of defeated England to win the 1992 one-day World Cup.
“When the chairman came and shared his experience with the World Cup, it gave a huge boost to our confidence,” Azam said. “He advised us to stay calm and focus on what’s going well.”
More than 90,000 fans were in the MCG when Pakistan played India early in the tournament and they have received solid support all over Australia.
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“They give us confidence and it’s good to see that whenever we go somewhere, any stadium, they come to support the Pakistani team,” he said.
(This story was not edited by DailyExpertNews staff and was generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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